A woman struggles with a man trying to steal her purse in a Bay-College parking garage on Friday, Nov. 17, 2017.

TORONTO — This purse snatcher had planned out his ambush attack.

But what he didn’t plan for was his chosen victim choosing not to be one.

The 50-year-old woman decided she was not going to let him victimize her. Dramatic video released by Toronto Police shows the woman holding on to her handbag as a man wrestles her for it.

The brazen attack took place along Bay St. at College St. — a normally safe area — last Friday around 6:30 p.m. The woman was ambushed by a man who had followed her into a parking garage. He snuck up behind her and sprayed her in the “face with a substance,” then grabbed her purse.

“But she would not let go,” said a person who was on the scene. “She was one tough person.”

That’s when, Toronto Police say, the thug “began to assault her but was stopped by a passersby.”

An image released by Toronto Police of a man sought in a purse snatching attempt at Bay and College on Friday, Nov. 17, 2017.

That passerby is a hero. She’s a brave woman. And the attacker is, well, you pick your own word to describe him.

Police want to catch him as soon as possible.

He is described as “brown, 35-45, wearing brown jacket, beige pants.”

The victim was treated in hospital.

An image released by Toronto Police of a man sought in a purse snatching attempt at Bay and College on Friday, Nov. 17, 2017.

This is another disturbing case that should not be glossed over just because no one was seriously hurt and the thief was not successful. This kind of thing can’t be tolerated. Hopefully the public can help the police nail this man before someone actually loses their purse or is seriously hurt.

If someone recognizes this man, Toronto Police are asking they call 416-808-5200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS.

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